Uniquely Singapore Merlion Keris inspired by unduk-unduk

[kai]

Hello Alexis,

Actually, this keris is inspired by the unduk-unduk (seahorse) keris of Terengganu state, peninsular Malaysia.

IMHO there are only very few nicely chiselled unduk-unduk and even fewer well-sculpted blades with this feature.

Legalities and the merlion being some kind of commercial modern idea aside, I don't think its placement in the pudhak sategal area is well advised: IMHO the stocky body completely breaks the flow of lines of the whole blade. If you have to, it might possibly work out reasonably well as a figure at the gandik area though...

The sarung is a traditional form called Kusriwo, which is also associated with Terengganu state of peninsular Malaysia.

I don't think this rather non-traditional version will "fly" with northern Malayan aesthetics. Got it carved on Madura, too?

You're certainly rattling the cage with those creations. However, I believe this is too much of a mix'n'match approach with too many influences from distinct cultures to be digestible from a more traditional perspective.

Regards,
Kai

[alexish]

Actually, the 'Bugis' pun has meaning, because this keris was actually commissioned from a Singapore dealer who has a shop in the Bugis street area.
Perhaps, some of you maybe able to guess who the 'dealer' is. He actually has a local patent for putting Merlions on kerises.

Aside from the blade, any of you fellow collectors have any further opinion on the Sarung, which I think is quite a traditional Malay Kusriwo design, even though it was carved in Madura?

[David]

Well Alexis, no one has a "patent" on the Merlion other than the Singapore Tourist Board (STB). One can apply to the STB for permission to use the image of the Merlion and my understanding is that if they approve you may use it at no charge. Your Singapore dealer may have made such arrangements with that board.
I really know only one Singapore dealer, but i do not believe his identity is pertinent to this discussion.
Your "Malay Kusriwo" sheath does indeed seem to be based upon a traditional Malay form, but i believe the carving flourishes and the manner in which they are carved gives it away fairly easily as a Madura product. As for the blade itself, this does not seem to be one of the better quality ones you have shown in the past. Is this the same smith who did your "Minangkabau" keris, because if so it does not seem to be at the same level of craft or execution, especially when we examine the carving of the greneng and the open carvings around the base.

[alexish]

Dear Collectors,

These are the original sarungs that inspired my piece. Any opinion whether these are traditional designs?

[alexish]

Here are the original designs of the unduk-unduk blades that inspired my Merlion piece. Any opinion?

[David]

Originally Posted by alexish

Here are the original designs of the unduk-unduk blades that inspired my Merlion piece. Any opinion?

Well, the first thing i see in your models is a modern interpretation of an unduk-unduk keris design being mass produced for market. You show three exact copies of a keris design here. I don't think i have ever seen three keris made so precisely like the other. Same dhapur, sure, we see that often, but with nuanced differences, not carbon copies of one another. All these keris and the dress are very contemporary and more along the nature of commercial art pieces than ethnographic weapons. If a feeling of authenticity was your goal i feel like you would have stood a better chance basing your design on a nice pre-WWII example of an unduk-unduk keris than these modern clones. Then you take your copy one more step removed from traditional ethnographic weaponry by adding the Merlion, a symbol created for the Singapore Tourism Board by a citizen of the former colonial power (Great Britain), to be used by sports teams, in advertising, for branding, tourism as well as a symbol of national personification. The symbol appears frequently on STB-approved souvenirs.
We often ask ourselves here what defines a keris? What distinguishes a keris from a work of modern art or a keris-like-object? I believe the answers to that question will be slightly different from each and every collector. But i do think it is fair to say that what you commissioned here stands firmly outside the realm of ethnographic weaponry. Of course, your mileage may vary.

[Treeslicer]

Originally Posted by alexish

Actually, the 'Bugis' pun has meaning, because this keris was actually commissioned from a Singapore dealer who has a shop in the Bugis street area.
Perhaps, some of you maybe able to guess who the 'dealer' is. He actually has a local patent for putting Merlions on kerises.

IMHO, if the keris originates from Singapore, that changes the whole complexion of the matter. However innovative the design might be, a merlion seems quite appropriate incorporated into a piece of Singaporean contemporary art, and given the proper permission from the STB, legal as well.